NFCI National Financial Conditions Index

Chicago Fed National Financial Conditions Index (NFCI)

This indicator plots the Chicago Fed’s National Financial Conditions Index (NFCI).
The NFCI updates weekly, and its latest value is displayed across all chart intervals.

The NFCI measures how tight or loose overall U.S. financial conditions are. It combines over 100 weekly indicators from the money, bond, and equity markets—along with credit and leverage data—into a single composite index.

The NFCI has three key subcomponents, each of which can be independently selected within the indicator:

Risk: Captures volatility, credit spreads, and overall market stress.

Credit: Tracks how easy or difficult it is to borrow across households and businesses.

Leverage: Reflects the level of debt and balance-sheet strength in the financial system.

When the NFCI rises, financial conditions are tightening — liquidity is contracting, borrowing costs are climbing, and investors tend to reduce risk.
When the NFCI falls, conditions are loosening — liquidity expands, credit flows more freely, and markets generally become more risk-seeking.

Traders often use the NFCI as a macro backdrop for risk appetite: rising values signal growing stress and defensive positioning, while falling values indicate improving liquidity and a more supportive market environment.